Maybe the world won't end tomorrow

For our first few years on earth, fear of death has been our primal fear, it was more like fear of the unknown, I presume. And whether that feeling grew up with us or vanished over the years doesn’t contradict the fact that when we were young –but old enough to have a perception of the world- every one of us was clinging on to life, which should make sense because we’ve just arrived to the world not few years ago. Stillness is a form of death that’s probably why most babies won’t settle in place; they’re always moving around, adventuring in their vast worlds that are only the confines of the apartment, I wonder why most grownups have lost the will to explore, if these people knew what they were missing out on, perhaps they would’ve wished to have back that childish ability of discovery.

Back when I was in prep school, a teacher in one of the classes was talking about how life will be at the end of days, I remember her saying that she didn’t want to be alive when it’s time for the world to end. At a certain part of her stories, a sudden earthquake-like vibration shook the entire school* and all the girls in the class screamed at the top of their lungs. That was a real non-staged demonstration of how we –as youngsters- fear death; and I think that’s why this memory is still hanging around in my head after all these years.
Now, I think I would disagree with my dear teacher … I would want to stick around till the end of a system that existed for a number of billions of years, that has been the host of millions of known and unknown species and organisms...I want to witness the inevitable. You may think it would be the ultimate suffering but I think three years of army service would teach you how to survive those presumably tough days :D.

*It turned out that they were using one of those big hammering machines to extend new underground power or phone lines in the neighborhood.

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Running

The ground passes beneath your feet. At first, the air whispers in your ears to stop, but as you go faster its voice becomes viciously louder, every bone in your body aches; yet you don’t stop.

Running becomes reality. And with the adrenalin, commitment and discipline rush through your veins. A dormant part of you brain comes back to life telling you to continue; you do continue all covered in sweat, you hate sweat; but not when you're running, its your sign of victory over the barriers you break.

Be it early in the morning or late at night, you run because you know it ... running sets you free.

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All But One

“Lose hope and you lose everything” … isn’t that what they say?

In real life, falling without a safety net to break your fall could be just as lethal as it is in circus. The social safety net could be anything from money to a small place in the middle of nowhere that you run to; to be alone with your thoughts, but mostly it is family and friends that form that refuge for us.

It's only that some events in life may be big enough to shake your whole belief system or to leave a scar in memory or a small fracture in the heart. That’s when time stops, and minutes turn into hours and hours into days, until that clock on the wall seems dead … an infinite loop that could drain every bit of remaining hope in you, and leave you lost in time indefinitely, unless you get yourself back together and take the lead once again.

Personally, I’ve been running risks ever since I was a little boy, shaping perspective with every situation, always learning my lessons because “Qui ne risque rien n’a rien ” or in plain English “No risk, no gain”. I just never thought my luck could fail me in such a critical time of my life. I know it was bound to happen, it’s just that the strike came when it was least expected…Though this lesson was a very late one, it is definitely a lesson learned: Not every tale is a fairy tale.

But time heals, or so I hope... and after all, what is life without challenges :)

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The New World

[book excerpt]

"... I had come to Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, on my own Columbus-like journey of exploration. Columbus sailed with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria in an effort to discover a shorter, more direct route to India by heading west, across the Atlantic, on what he presumed to be an open sea route to the East Indies-rather than going south and east around Africa, as Portuguese explorers of his day were trying to do. India and the magical Spice Islands of the East were famed at the time for their gold, pearls, gems, and silk-a source of untold riches. Finding this shortcut by sea to India, at a time when the Muslim powers of the day had blocked the overland routes from Europe, was a way for both Columbus and the Spanish monarchy to become wealthy and powerful.

When Columbus set sail, he apparently assumed the Earth was round, which was why he was convinced that he could get to India by going west. He miscalculated the distance, though. He also did not anticipate running into a landmass before he reached the East Indies. Nevertheless, he called the aboriginal peoples he encountered in the new world "Indians." Returning home,
though, Columbus was able to tell his patrons, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, that although he never did find India, he could confirm that the world was indeed round.

I set out for India by going due east, via Frankfurt. I had Lufthansa business class. I knew exactly which direction I was going thanks to the GPS map displayed on the screen that popped out of the armrest of my airline seat. I landed safely and on schedule. I too encountered people called Indians. I too was searching for the source of India's riches. Columbus was searching for hardware-precious metals, silk, and spices-the source of wealth in his day. I was searching for software, brainpower, complex algorithms, knowledge workers, call centers, transmission protocols, breakthroughs in optical engineering-the sources of wealth in our day. Columbus was happy to make the Indians he met his slaves, a pool of free manual labor. I just wanted to understand why the Indians I met were taking our work, why they had become such an important pool for the outsourcing of service and information technology work from America and other industrialized countries. Columbus had more than one hundred men on his three ships; I had a small crew from the Discovery Times channel that fit comfortably into two banged-up vans, with Indian drivers who drove barefoot. When I set sail, so to speak, I too assumed that the world was round, but what I encountered in the real India profoundly shook my faith in that notion. Columbus accidentally ran into America but thought he had discovered part of India. I actually found India and thought many of the people I met there were Americans. Some had actually taken American names, and others were doing great imitations of American accents at call centers and American business techniques at software labs. Columbus reported to his king and queen that the world was round, and he went down in history as the man who first made this discovery. I returned home and shared my discovery only with my wife, and only in a whisper.

"Honey," I confided, "I think the world is flat." "

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CUBЭ

CUBE is the robot made by the staff of moderators of “Robo-academy” (the AC branch of CORD) last year,

it was intended to be a “Welcoming robot” so it doesn’t do anything special other than moving back and forth right and left, and rotating its arms and head, Both The head and arms had two degrees of freedom.

The mechanical design is made by (El 3abqary) Yasser Al Mohandes (yes, Eslam Al Mohandes's cousin)

Circuits by (Ibrahim: 3rd EMP now, and Mohamed Omar: AC head and our friend in 4th CSE)

The control system consisted of two microcontrollers (namely TX and RX)

The TX reads the inputs from the remote control, sends them to RX which in turn decides the proper action on the motors based on a lookup table. The communication between the two micros was through the USART module (using the Asynchronous mode)

The microcontrollers used are pic16f877a, which read TWELVE Inputs and acted on TEN motors.

It took me about two weeks - and many errors to solve :) - to get the two codes right

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the schematics and the sketches I draw for the connections of the two microcontrollers to post them here, but I still have the Proteus designs.

Here are the codes for the two microcontrollers; I hope they can be of any benefit to any of you.

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Back Home

Growing up, I read wonderful novels for such great authors who had a lot in common:
An Elegant style of writing that at times made me fall to the ground laughing, while stealing tears from my eyes at others.
And their ability to fly me from my seat straight into worlds of dreams and put me in the heart of the struggle of a helpless people against its ruthless king, or in one of the most romantic yet tragic stories ever told..
perhaps live the life of a town over a century of time!
or maybe in that spooky house on the hill that's haunted by ghosts!!
or even be in the middle of the war between Greek gods.
One more thing they had in common is...none of them was Egyptian.
Not for once did I think about reading for Egyptian authors; For I thought none of them would be able to capture my mind with his/her writings the way English,French and Russian literature did , though my father had a library of the finest Egyptian works of literature.
It’s not until recently that I discovered how wrong it was of me to neglect the brilliant productions of the brilliant Egyptian minds.

I read this lately -I can't remember the exact words nor where I’ve read them-:
"It’s a shame to know every bit of detail about the European culture without knowing the simplest facts about our civilisation"
These words got me thinking that it’s about time I gave the Egyptian literature the attention it deserves.

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C'est pas la peine

Quand on fait n'importe quel choix -normalement- “ça passe ou ça casse”,

L'ayant dit, “ça casse” semble -pour moi- être tout ce qui se passe récemment.

Mais...Si on pense on va l'avoir facilement, on est -dans une certaine façon- de se tromper.

Et dans une voie ou une autre, La vie n’est pas juste, pas toujours au moins,

Je m'en tirerai...Comme je faisais toujours,

Je le promets.

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It

It’s that night again, five hundred years have passed.

Everyone gathered in the town hall, and every male who is capable of holding a sword stood outside, they surrounded the hall to defend themselves and their families against the unknown,
No one has seen it before, They heard dozens of stories when they were young, but nothing in the world could have prepared them to face the fear that awaits them tonight.
What the others felt inside the hall was in no way better, It’s devastating enough to live your life knowing when it ends, but to know nothing about how it ends, why it ends and who (or what) is going to take it, is a million times more frightening.


It has started outside and they heard it all,
They heard their soldiers...
One by one they fell, their screams were full of pain, but they were short and quickly disappeared.

Back inside they said every prayer they knew and only one thought remained to think about, their last hope of salvation: the legend
Father to son and generation to generation they passed it on.
A legend every man, woman and child of that town knows by heart, for it runs like blood in their veins, a legend that is as old as the town itself

“ When it’s that night of that day, He whose power is more than that of a thousand men, and whose sword is molded in hell, shall rise to fight off the evil that haunts the town on that damned night ”


The sounds from outside ceased to exist, chilly wind blew off the candles that were lighting the hall, only to leave them in total darkness, they seemed to have stopped breathing; fear made their lungs unable to even ask for air, all eyes were looking at the door when it opened...
None of them survived that night and none lived to tell what happened,
And no one...came to save them.
By the dawn of the next day, the town was as empty as if no one has ever lived there.

.
.
.

Five hundred years have passed. It’s that night again…

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ΛLΣχ

If you’re reading this, it means I’m back to Cairo and sitting to my laptop copying what I wrote back in Alex.
It was a two-day trip - that could’ve been three, if it hadn’t been for that testing lab on Sat 4 O’clock

" This place gives me nothing but happy thoughts...that’s why I’m writing this here, from the balcony of our 11th floor room overlooking the whole sea while listening to this.
I know that my worries will be waiting for me the minute I set foot in Cairo but those worries have no place here now.
I always say that nothing is like a good book and a nice piece of music, but add the sea to that and I’ll take a guess that that’s how heaven looks like.
The clear white waves don't just crash into those rocks on the shore & end up lost in the sea but they somehow find their way to my heart to wash it from the inside.
And the smell of the sea...I swear I can almost touch it when I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
The heavenly sunset...I’m lost for words to describe the view going through my eyes right now.
It’s incredible the wonderful state of mind the sea always puts me in.


Sitting here in such a perfect mood, two thoughts are circling my mind at the minute:
. Sometimes getting away from work even for a brief time could be the best way to go back and tend to it clear minded.
. My everlasting dream of living the rest of my life on the coast of the Ocean. "

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Roll Camera

FADE IN:

1. INT. DINING ROOM – LATE AFTERNOON

Modern kitchen: in the middle sits a dining table with two chairs on its sides.

Another table is behind one of the chairs, it has a coffee machine on it.

A dim ray of light comes from a window on the wall that is facing the entrance to the kitchen.

We see a young “husband and wife” having dinner

WIFE

I called you at the office,

they said you didn’t show up today,

so where were you?

HUSBAND

There was this urgent work that had

to be done in our downtown branch.

WIFE

What work?

HUSBAND

Some work stuff…

We can see the look on the wife’s face...she doesn’t believe him.

HUSBAND

Coffee?

He says it while moving towards the coffee machine on the table behind him,
The CAMERA SLOWLY ROTATES about a quarter of a circle around the kitchen and ends up facing him,
We no longer see his wife, he starts pouring some coffee.

WIFE (o.s)

No, thank you.

The place is dead silent but for the sound of the coffee being poured,

He then turns and faces his wife, leaning on the coffee table.

CUT TO:

THE ORIGINAL ANGLE BUT A WIDER SHOT, we now see the whole kitchen

HUSBAND

(With a pale smile)

You look beautiful

WIFE

(In resentment)

Don’t give me that

HUSBAND

(Surprised)

What?! I was just saying that you look nice

WIFE

You were trying to change the subject

HUSBAND

What subject are you talking about?

I just told you, It was some Goddamn work

WIFE

(her voice got louder)

Stop lying

HUSBAND

(Rage mixed with astonishment)

Did You just call me a liar?!!

What’s got into you?!!

And in an angry action he puts the half empty cup on the table where they were eating, grabs his coat from the back of his chair,
all that while looking fiercely into her eyes,
He then storms out of the kitchen,
seconds later we hear the apartment door slamming.

CUT

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Y2K

The clock on the wall already counted 15 minutes into hour one of January 1^st of “Year 2 Thousand”.

But… the Earth is not quacking, no volcanoes have erupted, no flying meteors hitting us…the world isn’t ending!
Some cults believed the world would end that day, but it didn’t.


I was sitting home watching people from all over the world celebrating this moment that presents itself only once every
ONE THOUSAND years. And not to lie to you, I thought all the years to come were gonna be peaceful, full of progress and things would go from good to better to best (Hey, I was only 11 years old)

But here’s what actually happened:

Tsunami: Sumatra, 2004
9.1 magnitude earthquake!! struck and triggered a tsunami. 230,000 deaths

European Heat Wave, 2003
35,000 people died.

H1N1 Swine Flu and H5N1 Avian Flu
nearly 10,000 deaths

Sichuan, China Earthquake and Flood 2008
24,000 lives lost including 5300+ children in a collapsed school and 80,000 injured.

And the most horrific man-made mistake towards nature: Global warming!!
Action Bioscience
National Geographic

“such events were very common in the previous decade (2000-2009). One could argue these events were more common than in previous decades”


We don’t need an “end-of- the-world” prophecy, we’re killing the Earth ourselves… and we’re doing a very good job at it. & if we keep doing what we’re doing, this planet won’t last for another one thousand years… heck it won’t last for another five hundred. Or in other words, WE are the ones who won’t last.

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Bed Time Stories

Once upon a time in the distant past, lived a boy who enjoyed listening to stories every night from his parents, He would lay on bed and pull the blanket over his mouth with his tiny hands and stare into the ceiling listening to his father telling the story of (3o2let el soba3) and how he was able to save his brothers who were always nagging him for being so small, and the story of the king who was imprisoned by his evil brother but eventually escaped with the help of his loyal subjects, or to his mother telling him about “Pinocchio”: the wooden boy with the nose that grows longer whenever he lies, and of course every Disney story there was. His mum used to buy him a bunch of story books every week, and he used to wait for that day impatiently.

Read to your children, they’ll be grateful to you forever.

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Plan vs. Spontaneity

This time, I wish to discuss a somewhat serious issue:

Am I obliged (not [forced], but rather [expected]) to always have a ready-made solution to every problem I may face?, Or it's okay to let actions take their natural course based on the current situation?
I know that our minds readily have built-in solutions for some situations; due to force of habit or shared experiences of others; But my question here concerns the situations that are not very grave, nevertheless are still important…

A small example to illustrate further:
-and am gonna ask you to try not to make fun of it :D -

“what would you do if you were attacked by an astray dog in the street?”**
Do you have to have a strategic plan made for that possible war between you and the dog?
Or, you could just think it up right then?
Get my point?

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** Obviously that “predicament” dog-situation is not my main point, it’s just an example of the matters in question

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Good Morning

Right at the same time the rays of morning were traversing our solar system to light up that forsaken spot of the world, he stood in the balcony with messy hair,it's apparent that he just woke up, it's also apparent that he didn't change into home clothes; as he was still wearing
the same outfit he was wearing the day before...probably was too tired to change, that the minute he got home, he slept right away.
With one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cup of tea he was drinking, after a small breakfast he had not ten minutes ago, he watched the street that was dead empty but from some few shops here and there getting ready for the new day.
the first rays of morning are finally here, they fell directly where he was standing, and lit up his face...
He breathed in the fresh air with that smell that couldn't be missed, the smell of that old tree in front of his 4th floor apartment.
"What a beautiful morning!" he said.
Then, he suddenly remembered he had loads of work to do for his graduation project; So he went back inside...opened his laptop...and started working.

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a "boy meets girl" story

These next lines are about a memory I will not forget as long as I shall live
A memory I hold close to my heart...
These next lines are about her.


" I remember it just like it was yesterday, those very few seconds our eyes met for the first time
And how time paused, only to give me the chance to look longer into those beautiful bright eyes,
those eyes that were full of joy and laughter beyond what any words of this world could describe.
She was with her friends, but unlike us “earthlings”, she wasn't walking on solid ground, instead she seemed to be floating on air.

....

we became friends, and what a wonderful person she was. It would take me hours to describe her intelligence and her fun spirit.
or her tender voice that was like waves of a calm Ocean crashing softly on the golden sands of its shore.
And her smile that lightened the world more than a million suns..... "


but that was long ago, it's been years...

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My Wife and Kids

My wife...She's the most loving and caring and beautiful and smart woman to ever set foot on this Earth...I L.O.V.E. her.
We’ve been married for quite a long time now, and I can’t imagine life without her and our kids,I love my family.

The kids will be here in about...10 minutes ,they take the school bus.
Today, like every week we’ll have lunch at **Antonio’s -Italian food is our favorite -
Then we’ll all head to the beach, it’s indescribable how great swimmers my kids are , I'm proud of them.
Then(if they're not tired yet :D )we'll go see the new animated movie,they've been looking forward to seeing it all week.
The door bell is ringing...it must be them, gotta go now...we’ve got a LOOOOng day of fun ahead of us.

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**
–it’s a great restaurant ,you should try their recipes if you happen to be around here- and oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that we're currently not living in Egypt due to my job demands but we visit whenever it’s possible.

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Come on already!

I have this strange habit of not trying anything new on the morning of any exam, and I mean anything

For instance:

I wouldn't take the bus if I'm used to taking the micro-bus, I wouldn't take another way to college other than my usual one, and not even try on the new shirt I just bought two days earlier, and I would NEVER try to eat something new that day -Not that I eat in the morning, In the first place-...Or anything for that matter.


The thing is...I don't wanna go on and pull any stunts on a day like that,It's probably that I'm anxious that something -anything- might have the slightest chance of going wrong, So I try my best not to let that happen.

I just wanna go to the exam , finish it -Strike that, try to finish it- ,and get the hell outta there, basically "do it and be done with it" sort of way.

But lately I've found that I've grown out of it, probably the experience I've gained throughout hundreds of exams has made me bulletproof to such situations :)

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Test

Check one two ,one two :D

Ladies and Gentlemen ...Welcome to the blog :)

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